Thousands of Fake Bieber CDs Planted in LA Stores on April Fool's

A Los Angeles-based musician and artist placed thousands of fake copies of Justin Bieber's latest album Believe in major retailers on Tuesday for April Fool's Day.

The 25-year-old artist who goes by the name Paz told the Associated Press that he planted about 5,000 copies of the album that appears to be Bieber's Believe, but actually contained a copy of his own CD.

The AP independently confirmed that the fake wrapped CDs -- which resembled the real Believe copies right down to the bar code and pop star’s portrait on the cover -- were placed in sales racks in L.A.-based retailers including Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target. Management for the retailers did not immediately respond to AP's request for comment.

"We were meticulous," Paz told the news agency, emphasizing that he viewed the stunt more as a display of performance art than an April Fool's gag. "We paid a lot of attention to detail because we wanted these to stay up on shelves as long as possible."

Paz's artwork is featured on the back cover and the disc itself contains random images of cats, pizzas and a dog stuffed inside a taco. The CD contains 13 tracks from the artist's synth-heavy electronic release From the Bottom of My Heart to the Top of Your Lungs.

"The world won't really miss a Justin Bieber record," mused Paz, whose full name is Paz Dylan. He said he chose the so-called "big-box retailers" as his artistic canvas as a means of "droplifting" his music directly into the hands of consumers.